An Italian women’s delegation visited the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in North and East Syria (Rojava) on Tuesday to discuss the role of women in building a democratic Syria and the significance of international women’s solidarity. The YPJ is an all-women militia group under the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The delegation met with YPJ General Commander Rohilat Afrin and spokeswoman Ruksen Muhammed to discuss the political situation in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December and the YPJ’s role in shaping a new Syria. The delegation included Roberta Ferrari, an academic researcher and political activist, Federica Gardini, a professor specialising in social movements, journalist Anna Irma Battino, and social activist Virginia Dessy.
Commander Afrin stated that Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) are directly targeting the achievements of the AANES, warning that women, who have played a leading role in establishing a system of equality and democracy in the region, are at the greatest risk of losing their rights.
Syrian women must remain steadfast in their defence, Afrin stressed, saying, “Like a rose protects itself with its thorns, a woman defends and protects herself through her principles.” Furthermore – women’s solidarity, both locally and internationally – and unity among the diverse ethnicities of the region are powerful forces against occupation and patriarchy, she said.
“Ensuring the unity among the people of the region delivers a powerful blow to the occupying forces. The unity of women delivers the ultimate blow to the oppressive and patriarchal system.”
Italian journalist Anna Irma Patino, speaking to Medya News, said the purpose of the delegation was to “take a closer look at what is happening in Rojava” and to understand how the AANES can boast “perhaps the most complete gender equality in the world”, in a region “torn apart by conflict and misogyny”.
What struck her most during the visit to North and East Syria, Patino explained, was the “simplicity and naturalness with which the meeting [with the YPJ] took place” and the “willingness of the commander and the rest of the delegation present to answer the various questions”. She also said that “the human warmth perceived from comrades who fight every day for their survival, and also for ours in Europe, was “incomparable”.
The meeting agenda had also covered the attacks at the Tishreen (Tişrîn) Dam on the Euphrates, which along with the Qara Quzak (Qere Qozaq) Bridge, also on the Euphrates, has been under heavy attack by Turkey since 8 December.
"Tishreen and Qereqozak are the two main gateways to Syria. They are strategically important for the protection of [the cities of] Kobani [Kobanê], Tabqa [Tebqa], Raqqa [Reqa] and the rest of Syria in general. Turkey's targeting of these gateways is linked to its objective of striking at the Autonomous Administration, but above all it wants to strike at that collective mentality that has united the population. Years of work have been invested in building this mentality among the people. They are determined to wipe it out. This war aims to dismantle the values established in this region." - Anna Irma Patino
The city of Kobani, known for its historic resistance against the Islamic State in 2014, was also a topic of the meeting, with Commander Afrin stating: “Kobani is not just about Syria. It is a city of the world, because the fight that took place in Kobani saw a force like ISIS defeated. About 10 years have passed since this great victory, brought about thanks to the will and the resistance of the women and men of Rojava.”
Patino also echoed Commander Afrin’s statements on the need to build global solidarity among women, and she noted her own concerns about an escalation of violence against women under the new Syrian government.
“The mentality ingrained in the new government makes it clear that there is no place for women, or that there is only one place, where women must agree to cover their heads and accept the patriarchal mentality. Preventing this will require a lot of organisation and effort. It is a grave danger, that we must recognise. The new government’s standards for women are a threat to the existence, role and culture of women,” she said.
Patino also reiterated the need for women to organise their own self-defence in Syria, with the central role of the pioneering YPJ, as “the first army made up entirely of women, protecting and fighting for themselves”. The YPG has “inspired many women; Arab, Kurdish, Assyrian and international, and must be protected at all costs,” she concluded.
